In surgery, electrosurgery devices to which electrosurgical instruments can be connected are used. It is typical to connect different instruments to the same electrosurgery device or to connect the same instrument to different electrosurgery devices. Generally, the electrosurgical instruments can be connected to the electrosurgery device via electrical cables simultaneously or one after the other. The electrosurgery device generates electrical voltages or currents for monopolar, bipolar or multipolar cutting and/or coagulation of biological tissue by means of the electrosurgical instruments.
Typically, different surgical device plug systems are used to accommodate the connecting cables that are arranged between the electrosurgery device and the instrument. A large number of such plug systems have become available on the market.
To be able to connect the large number of electrosurgical instruments available on the market to the same electrosurgery device, various connecting sockets are provided, depending on the design of the electrosurgery device. For example, to connect an instrument with a monopolar connecting cable to an electrosurgery device, a monopolar connecting socket is used, but if an instrument with a bipolar connecting cable is to be connected to the electrosurgery device, a bipolar connecting socket must be available at the electrosurgery device. This results in a plurality of connecting sockets at the electrosurgery device with the consequence that, particularly in the hectic atmosphere of an operating room, electrosurgical instruments are often plugged into the wrong sockets. This, in turn, means that a certain amount of time passes before the incorrect insertion is noticed and the instrument is plugged into the correct connecting socket. It is even possible, as consequence of incorrect insertion, for the electrosurgical instrument to become damaged, which can have serious results for the patient being operated on.